The Glass Menagerie (1995)

Intro

A play by Tennessee Williams, performed at the Donmar Warehouse, London: 7 September - 5 November 1995; transferred to the Comedy Theatre, London, on 11 December 1995.

Performance length: 2 hours and 20 minutes (including an interval) at the Donmar; 2 hours and 30 minutes (including an interval) at the Comedy

Photos

With thanks to Kerrie, Natalie, and Nadine for some of the photos.

Overview

In the Deep South of 1944, young Tom Wingfield is prevented from realising his ambitions by his overbearing mother, Amanda. He is eager to escape his mother's clutches and seek his independence. By contrast, Tom's sister, Laura, is timid and withdrawn, struggling under the weight of her mother's designs upon her future.

As Amanda and her daughter await the arrival of a gentleman caller, the family's ties prove to be as fragile as Laura's menagerie of glass animals.

Cast

Ben Walden ... Tom Wingfield

Zoë Wanamaker ... Amanda Wingfield

Claire Skinner ... Laura Wingfield

Mark Dexter ... The Gentleman Caller

Crew

Director: Sam Mendes
Designer: Rob Howell
Lighting Designer: David Hersey
Music: Jason Carr
Sound Designer: Scott Myers
Dialect Coach: Julia Wilson-Dickson
Assistant Director: Rupert Goold
Production Photographers: Richard Mildenhall and Sasha Gusov

Notes

Some time before starring in this production of The Glass Menagerie, Zoë had appeared in another Tennessee Williams play, A Streetcar Named Desire (1975); she returned to the playwright's work with a production of The Rose Tattoo (2007).

Press coverage

'Zoe Wanamaker is superb' in the role of Amanda, enthused Lisa Vanoli in The Stage. Ian Shuttleworth, writing for the Financial Times, praised this 'gem-like production'. The show was 'well-nigh flawlessly lovely', declared the Independent's Paul Taylor.

Merchandise

The Cambridge Companion to Tennessee Williams (a collection of essays, edited by Matthew C. Roudané), features a photo of Zoe and Claire Skinner performing in The Glass Menagerie on its front cover; another production photo is included in C.W.E. Bigsby's contribution to the collection, 'Entering the Glass Menagerie'.

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams